PM raising question on air strikes, should clarify his statement on Rafale: Cong

New Delhi, Mar 3: Countering the charge by Prime Minister Narendra Modi that the Opposition was questioning the air strikes on Balakot, Congress on Sunday said the PM himself was raising question on the recent anti-terror air strike in Pakistan by saying that if the country had Rafale then the results could have been different.

At a news conference here, Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari said, “Neither had we asked for proof earlier nor are we doing so now. We have trust in our armed forces. The Prime Minister is himself raising a question on recent air strikes by saying if the country had Rafale, the results could have been different “We are concerned about the fact that when PM himself says that if Rafele had been there, the result would have been different,. What does it mean? We want to know from the PM what would have been different.

“And if report that one of out MiG aircraft shot down F-16 then what is the different expectation is the PM talking about. By doing so it is the PM himself who is raising questions on the air strike. This is absolutely unprecedented. By making such a statement, the PM is lowering the morale of the armed forces.”

The Congress leader alleged that it was the present government which was responsible for the delay in the arrival of Rafale jets because the present government had cancelled the contract and negotiations being carried out by the previous UPA government.

Tewari said a minister in the Union Government Surinder Singh Ahluwalia, a close confidant of the PM, said air strike was meant to threaten and not kill.

“What does all this mean? PM should give an explanation on this to the nation or sack the minister,” Tewari said.

The statement by the PM had far-reaching implications for India's national security.

Speaking at the India Today Conclave, the PM on Saturday while targeting the opposition for its attacks on him on Rafale deal, said the country had suffered a huge loss due to the politics on Rafale.

“India is feeling the absence of Rafale. The entire country is saying in one voice today, if we had Rafale probably the result would have been different. The country has suffered a lot due to selfish interests earlier and now politics over Rafale," he said in his address at the India Today conclave. (UNI)